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There have been so many moving pieces – big decisions, conversations interrupted by tears, feelings of confusion, growing relationships, moments of clarity, and wordless prayers.

I am not who I was a year ago. I’m not who I was when I started this blog. So, I’m choosing to move forward instead of looking back.

Two things I will always be: an Actor & Adventurer. And I think a writer too. I’ve wanted to write these last few months, but just didn’t feel like The Art of Acting Up was the right spot anymore. It’s been a joy to write this blog over the last five years. And I just want to say thank you for taking this journey with me.

Now, I am starting another chronicle, penning a fresh chapter, creating a new place to write about my life as an actor who is always on the look out for an adventure.

If you want to keep up with me as I continue to chase my dreams in LA, explore this incredible world, and share my point of view – please check out my new blog:

Totally guilty of trying to solve my life. I constant find myself wanting to cross EVERYTHING off of my To-Do List in one day.

But if I cross it all off… what’s left to do? What life is there left to live? I don’t have to solve every problem and conquer every obstacle right this very minute. I don’t have to have everything planned out and perfectly pieced together.

What if I could stop looking at my life as something to solve and instead view it as a pile (an organized one 😉) of wonderful and good things. What if I cared for and nurtured those good things? What if my life grew into something beautiful?

I love a good To-Do list as much as the next Type-A girl. But even I have to admit that a Christmas-Morning-like pile of all the wonderful things in my life is so much more fulfilling than a crumpled up list of crossed off (or ya know… rewritten again and again) problems and worries.

So, one at a time. I want to build my pile of good things. Now I just have to decide what will I add to the pile first.

This past year of my life has been filled with change, growth, hard decisions, big feelings, and a deeper understanding of who I am and who I want to be.
In this time I have been desperate to write, to express my feelings, my thoughts… but I’ve found myself at a loss for words. What I have been feeling and experiencing is just so big. I’ve been sharing bits and pieces, but some of it I am still trying to find the language to describe.

So, if you’re wondering where I’ve been… I’m still here. Taking my time, listening, and trying to put what’s in my heart into words. Because I do feel like it’s important to share. What are our experiences for if not to learn from, to share with others, to forge meaningful connections… so, when I’m ready, I’ll let you know.

In the meantime, I feel like something new is coming. More change is happening. I’m not who I was yesterday, last year, or when I started this blog about five years ago. I’m embracing the woman I’ve become and excitedly anticipating whatever comes next.

Asking for help has always been a tough one for me. I have always been pretty independent and incredibly stubborn. Having to ask for help always felt like admitting weakness. Needing others made me feel like a failure for not being able to do it on my own.

How ridiculous is that?!

We were not put on this earth to do life alone. Life is so much fuller, so much richer when we let others in. I don’t know what made up rule book I read that said success was greater if I succeeded on my own, but I have thrown that rule book out the window.

We all need help sometimes, and there is nothing wrong with asking for it. Needs, wants, requests, wishes… just ask. The worst that could happen? Someone might tell you no. Why is that so scary? I think it’s much more terrifying to miss out on opportunities and to settle for less because I was too afraid to ask.

I have found that, as nervewracking as asking for help can be, most of the time, the answer is yes. And those yeses can create confidence, build better friendships, and elicit a joyful yes when you are the one asked for help. I quite literally get by with a little help from my friends, and I am so thankful that I don’t have to do it alone.

Be bold – ask for what you need. Be bolder – ask for what you want. The answer might just be yes.

I am at the start of a new beginning. It’s been full of excitement, heartache, relief, doubt, sureness, and joy. Mostly I just have a lot of feelings.

Packing up and leaving Los Angeles behind was harder for me than I thought it would be. I created a life there, and I am incredibly proud of all I accomplished. I will forever treasure the relationships and experiences California brought me, but LA didn’t end up being where I wanted to build my life, plant my roots.

Nashville has been calling my husband and me back for quite some time. We couldn’t keep ignoring the way this city tugged at our heartstrings. The possibility of continuing to follow our passion for acting in a thriving theatre community and the budding Southern film market was so appealing. Equally important was returning to loved ones, finding a church family to fellowship with, dreams of our own home and a growing family, and the desire to truly invest ourselves in the place we choose to call home. The possibilities are endless and exhilarating.

So here we are. Back in Nashville at the start of something new, choosing to begin again. It’s been quite the journey, but I am ready. I am choosing to trust in the magic of beginnings.

Saying goodbye is hard. It’s bittersweet at best. When you know you are about to leave, it’s like putting on rose colored glasses. Everything is amazing again. It’s fresh, new. Just like it was the day you unpacked your dreams and the Uhaul.

We still stand by our reasons for leaving Los Angeles behind, but I am thankful for these last days. They have given me the ability to remember all this city has to offer with clear eyes and an open heart.

We put together an LA Bucket List of all we wanted to do, see, eat, and experience before we said goodbye. I have loved exploring and truly enjoying the beauty of the mountains, the ocean, the thriving and active city. I have found joy in being at work, spending time with my co-workers, sharing the magic of making movies with people from all over the world. I have cherished every moment with my beloved LA family – the laughter, the hugs, even the tears.

The last days have solidified just how wonderful the past five years have been and how thankful I am for the chapter we are now closing.

It’s too easy to forget what life can really be. I get caught up in routine, making in through the day, and just living life. We should all get to live like it’s the last days. Seeing more clearly, smiling bigger, loving harder, breathing it all in…

This one got me right in the gut today. How often do I act from a place of fear rather than a place of hope? How many times have I let fear step in and determine my path? Too many. How about you?

Fear wants to win. Fear wants to keep you in a dark room, head down, potential untapped. Your fear wants you to believe that you are correct… that all your insecurities are real, that all your doubt is well founded, that you are not enough. If we let ourselves live in that place, we will end up choosing a small life, we will end up choosing fear.

I don’t know about you, but I want a big, beautifulLIFE! I want to dream god-sized dreams and to leap fearlessly into all the amazing unknowns that hope has to offer. I want to choose from a place of hope. Can you imagine what that world would look like? If every decision we made was expectation-based, rooted in hope, founded in joyful possibility… that’s a world I want to see. That’s a world I want to help create.